AI voice receptionist
AI receptionist for clinics in India
Docna's AI receptionist answers your clinic's own dedicated number in English, Hindi or Tamil. It books, reschedules and cancels appointments from your real clinic hours, sends the patient a WhatsApp confirmation, transfers the caller to a person when asked, and calls your own patients with reminders and recalls. Each call reaches your inbox with a summary.
1-month free trial. Plans from ₹4,000 a month.
Call summary
Sample- Incoming call
- Rescheduled
- WhatsApp confirmation sent
Heard on the call
Namaste, mera Thursday wala appointment Saturday ko shift kar sakte hain? Subah ka time chahiye.
- 1
- Matched the caller's number to the patient and found their Thursday 11:00 AM appointment.
- 2
- Offered Saturday at 10:30 AM or 11:30 AM, from the open slots in the clinic hours.
- 3
- Moved the appointment to Saturday at 10:30 AM and read the new time back.
- 4
- Sent the patient a WhatsApp confirmation once the call ended.
How it works
How the AI receptionist handles a call
What happens when a patient rings your clinic, from the first hello to the WhatsApp confirmation that follows a booking.
- 01
It answers in your clinic's language
The receptionist picks up and greets the caller in the opening language you choose: English, Hindi or Tamil. When only one patient on your list has that number, it greets them by first name. When call recording is on, the greeting also tells the caller that the call may be recorded.
- 02
It works out who is calling
In many Indian families one phone books for everyone, so the receptionist matches the number the call came from against your patient list and asks which family member the visit is for. It only ever looks up that number, so nobody can ask it about someone else's. A new caller is asked for their name and reason, and you get a callback request to register them.
- 03
It offers times that really exist
Open slots come from your clinic hours, minus everything already booked, over the next five days. The receptionist reads out two or three options instead of a long list, and remembers what it has offered and what the caller turned down, so asking for another time brings new choices and a preference such as mornings or after 5 is kept.
- 04
It books, moves or cancels, then reads it back
Before moving or cancelling, it looks up the patient's booked appointments and, when there are several, reads the dates back so the caller can pick the right one. It reads the date and time back before booking and again after, and a caller who says yes twice still ends up with one appointment, not two.
- 05
The patient gets a WhatsApp, you get the record
When the call ends, the patient is sent a WhatsApp confirmation of the booking, the new time or the cancellation, and if one cannot be sent you get a notification saying so. The call appears in your Communications inbox under that patient, beside their WhatsApp chats, with a short summary, the full transcript and, when recording is on, the recording.
Capabilities
What the AI receptionist does for your clinic
The phone work a front desk does every day: answering questions, managing appointments and calling patients, with a person one transfer away.
Answers the questions patients ask
Clinic hours, address and directions, the consultation fee and accepted insurance come from your clinic profile. The hours it quotes are worked out from the same clinic hours it offers appointment times from. When it does not have an answer, it offers to have the clinic follow up.
Calls your own patients, for a reason
Pick a patient and a purpose and the receptionist places the call: an appointment reminder, a wellness check-in, a recall for a patient due a visit, or a message that a report or prescription is ready. It only calls patients on your list, at the number in their record.
Campaigns built from your schedule
Switch on campaigns and the receptionist proposes calls itself: a reminder the day before each appointment, a recall for patients who missed a visit in the last 30 days and have not rebooked, and a check-in for patients not seen in eight weeks with nothing booked. Each proposed call waits on your board with its reason for at least an hour so you can cancel it, under a daily cap of 20 calls by default.
Confirmation calls on the day
Turn on confirmation calls and the receptionist rings each patient on the day of their appointment to confirm, reschedule or cancel, alongside the morning WhatsApp reminder if you have that switched on.
A person whenever the caller wants one
When a caller asks for a human, the receptionist transfers the call to the number you set in its settings, or to your profile phone if you leave that blank. A plain 10-digit mobile number is fine. If it cannot understand a caller after two tries, it transfers them or takes a callback request.
Emergencies sent to 112, and flagged to you
If a caller describes a red flag such as chest pain, trouble breathing, severe bleeding, stroke signs or loss of consciousness, the receptionist tells them to call 112 or go to the nearest emergency room now, offers to connect them to a person, and marks the call urgent so you are notified.
A receptionist, not a doctor
It is set up to leave medical advice, diagnoses and medicine guidance to you. Asked whether a symptom is serious, it says the doctor will advise and offers a booking or a callback, and it notes the reason for the visit so you have context before the patient arrives.
Checks a confirmation before saying it
Before a reply is spoken, any line saying an appointment was booked, moved or cancelled is checked against what the receptionist actually did on the call. A reply caught claiming a change it did not make is held back: the receptionist is sent back to make the change for real or to ask, and if it still has not, the caller hears “Just to be sure, shall I go ahead with that?”
Easy to interrupt, like a person
Callers can talk over it. When they do, it stops speaking and listens, and it waits for real speech, not one stray noise on the line. Its own voice echoing back down the phone line is filtered out of the caller's turn, and on every second turn it says a short line such as “Just a moment please” while it works.
Discreet on every call it places
An outbound call opens by asking for the patient by first name and saying which clinic is calling, without saying why. The receptionist gives the reason once the patient confirms it is them, and if someone else answers, it keeps the reason to itself and ends the call politely. A results call says a report or prescription is ready and offers a review, without reading out or interpreting any result.
Languages
An AI receptionist that speaks English, Hindi and Tamil
The language of each reply is decided from what the caller just said, then checked before it is spoken. A reply that comes back in the wrong language is translated before it is spoken, in the voice for that language.
English
English is the opening language unless you choose another. Callers who speak English are answered in English, and a caller who moves into Hindi or Tamil is followed into it from the next reply. A single word such as okay or haan never flips the call; it takes a sentence.
Hindi and Hinglish
Hindi replies are written in Devanagari so the Hindi voice reads them naturally, with everyday words such as appointment, doctor and fees left in English, the way patients say them. Hinglish is welcome, and you can make Hindi the language every call opens in.
Tamil
Tamil replies are written in Tamil script, and one that comes back in Latin letters is translated before the caller hears it. A caller can simply ask, with “Can you speak Tamil?” or “Tamil la pesunga”, and the receptionist switches at once and stays in Tamil for the rest of the call unless they ask for another language.
In practice
A day at the clinic with an AI receptionist
The day starts on the call board. With campaigns on, tomorrow's reminders and the day's recalls are already proposed, each with its reason, and you cancel any you would rather not make. Calls go out only inside the calling window you set in India Standard Time, 9:00 to 20:00 unless you change it, and a call that falls outside waits for the window to open. A patient you mark as do not call is never rung, and one switch pauses all outbound calling.
During OPD the phone no longer pulls your front desk away from the patient standing in front of them. The receptionist takes the bookings, the moves and the questions about fees and timings, and a call reaches your staff when the caller asks for a person. Callback requests land in your notifications, and urgent calls and calls that need your review arrive as notifications that open that caller's conversation.
A patient who does not pick up is called again two hours later, inside your calling window, up to three attempts in all, and if none of them connects you are told.
At the end of the day the Communications inbox holds the receptionist's calls beside your WhatsApp chats, patient by patient. Play the recording, read the transcript or skim the summary. A reply the caller talked over before it was spoken is marked as interrupted in the transcript, so the record shows what the patient actually heard.
Who it is for
Who the AI receptionist is for
Clinics without a full time receptionist
Solo practices where the doctor or one assistant answers the phone between patients, and a missed call can mean a missed appointment.
Busy OPDs with one front desk
Clinics where the desk is checking patients in, taking payments and printing prescriptions while the phone keeps ringing.
Practices whose patients prefer Hindi or Tamil
Clinics where patients would rather explain what they need in their own language than in English.
Doctors who depend on follow ups
Chronic care, diabetes, paediatrics and every practice where reminders and recalls decide whether patients come back on time.
Pricing
Simple plans, priced in rupees
The AI receptionist is an add-on to either plan, and your first month of it is free. Patients call it on your clinic's own dedicated number, which Docna provisions and sets up for you at the monthly price shown under both plans on the pricing page. Each WhatsApp confirmation uses one credit from your account.
Every account starts with a 1-month free trial. Compare plans
Pro
₹4,000
per month, billed in INR
Enterprise
₹8,999
per month, billed in INR
FAQ
AI receptionist for clinics: questions doctors ask
What does an AI receptionist do for a clinic?
It answers your clinic's dedicated number and handles the calls a front desk handles: booking, rescheduling and cancelling appointments, answering questions about hours, fees and location, and passing the caller to a person when they ask. Docna's receptionist also calls your patients with reminders and recalls, and sends the patient a WhatsApp confirmation when an appointment is booked, moved or cancelled on a call.
Which languages does the AI receptionist speak?
English, Hindi and Tamil. It answers in the language the caller is speaking, follows them when they switch, and keeps to a language they ask for directly, such as “Can you speak Tamil?”, until they ask for another. You choose which of them every call opens in.
Can it book appointments straight into my schedule?
Yes. Bookings, reschedules and cancellations go straight into your Docna appointments, using open slots worked out from your clinic hours over the next five days. It books for patients already on your list. For a new caller it takes the name and reason and leaves you a callback request, so the clinic can register them.
What if the caller wants to speak to a person?
The receptionist transfers the call to the number you set in its settings, or to your profile phone if you leave that blank. If it cannot understand the caller after two tries, it transfers them or takes a callback request. On a call it placed itself, it opens by checking it has reached the right patient, and it will not connect anyone who says it is the wrong number.
Will it call my patients, and when?
Only patients on your list, for an appointment reminder, a wellness check-in, a recall, or to say a report or prescription is ready. Calls go out inside the calling window you set, a patient you mark as do not call is never rung, and with campaigns on every proposed call waits on your board for at least an hour so you can cancel it.
Are calls recorded?
When recording is on, the receptionist says so at the start of every call: “This call may be recorded.” Recording and that notice are one switch, so the notice is part of every call while recording is on. Each recording is kept privately and plays from the call's card in your Communications inbox, with the summary and transcript beside it.
Does it give medical advice or handle emergencies?
It is set up to leave medical advice, diagnoses, medicine guidance and clinical questions to the doctor. If a caller describes an emergency red flag such as chest pain or trouble breathing, it tells them to call 112 or go to the nearest emergency room, offers to connect them to a person, and flags the call to you as urgent.
How much does the AI receptionist cost?
It is an add-on to Docna's Pro plan at ₹4,000 a month or Enterprise at ₹8,999 a month, its own price is listed on the pricing page, and the first month of the add-on is free. Every new Docna account starts with a 1-month free trial.
Put an AI receptionist on your clinic's phone
Start a 1-month free trial of Docna, add the receptionist with its first month free, and give patients a number where they can book, reschedule and ask questions in English, Hindi or Tamil.